Excerpt: ‘Entropy’ by Jess Anastasi

Excerpt: ‘Entropy’ by Jess Anastasi

Excerpt: ‘Entropy’ by Jess Anastasi

HEA shares an excerpt from sci-fi romance Entropy (Atrophy Series #4) by Jess Anastasi, new this week.

About the book:

Captain Qaelan Forster is used to trouble. He lives on the wrong side of the law and he’s on the most-wanted lists. He’s mixed up in his cousin’s mess who has problems on a cosmic level—like shape-shifting aliens who want them dead. But Qaelan’s not prepared for the cheeky kind of trouble called Camille Blackstone, whose infamous father has any man interested in his daughter executed.

After Camille drags Qaelan into an impulsive act of rebellion, she finds herself trying to defend the sexy captain from her overprotective father’s wrath, even if she has to handcuff herself to the captain to keep him alive. However, it soon becomes apparent there are much more dangerous things lurking in the dark corners of the universe than a vengeful pirate lord. And she’s just landed in the middle of it.

EXCERPT

Cami didn’t bother trying to make conversation with Captain Qaelan Forster as they left the noise and stale-alcohol smell of the bar and headed out into the balmy night. He hadn’t followed her for some kind of deep-and-meaningful or even the slightest bit of small talk.

The only thing he was interested in wasn’t going to require any words. Well, not any coherent ones, anyway. Not that she was looking for anyone to talk to. The last run for her father hadn’t gone well, and she’d ducked into the bar to avoid seeing him. He probably wouldn’t say anything about it, and he couldn’t be more pissed at her than she was at herself. But he’d get that look. The one that said she’d disappointed him. And she hated that look more than anything. Would rather he yelled at her.

So, leaving the bar with the infamous Qaelan Forster hadn’t really been about him at all. It’d been about avoiding her father. And for the fact she was sick of her demon princess-of-hell reputation. Sure, it was well warranted, and she’d always thought it didn’t matter that a bunch of people who weren’t significant thought she was an unfeeling callous bitch who believed they were all beneath her.

But for some reason, tonight it had gotten to her. Qaelan Forster had been there, and she couldn’t deny the tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed captain was seriously hot, just like she’d heard. Kissing him to shut up a few morons up hadn’t been a chore at all.

In fact, it’d been the exact opposite. An instant fire had lit up her blood, and while initially she’d been planning on ditching him as soon as they got outside, now she was trying to remember the last time she’d let anyone get close to her. It’d been almost two years ago, that gorgeous blond waiter she’d seen a handful of times passing through a space station not too far out of the Belt.

Claude had been the first and only casual relationship she’d had. She’d thought if it wasn’t serious, then her father would be less likely to interfere or threaten anyone. Turned out she’d been wrong. He’d still managed to have a hand in messing things up. Truth be told, her heart hadn’t been in it, so she hadn’t been all that devastated.

Though her handful of other relationships had been short, she’d never had a one-night-stand with a complete stranger before—usually she was at least somewhat familiar with her partner.

And she couldn’t actually remember the last guy she’d been serious about, not clearly anyway. Her father had probably gotten him killed, or banished him, or some equally ridiculous overreaction. The second she ever looked at a guy twice, her father was plotting murder and mayhem. She glanced at Qaelan as they silently walked through the bright, night-lit streets, people spilling out of all kinds of establishments or shopping in the bazaar. Life in Tripoli never stopped. The party just kept rolling on.

Qaelan had his hands in his pockets, casting her glances every now and then, probably trying to figure her out. Men were always trying to figure her out. It annoyed the crap out of her.

For half a second, she considered cutting him loose again. Her father favored Qaelan and his even-more infamous cousin, Rian Sherron. He’d be seriously pissed if he found out Qaelan had touched her, let alone anything else. But maybe that favoritism would mean Qaelan would simply get banished, not dead. And that would only happen if her father found out…

Kissing him in front of a bar full of people probably meant that was a given. It was too late now. The damage was done. She might as well enjoy herself. And if her father did decide he was going to try something, she got the feeling that maybe Qaelan and Rian would be able to hold their own against him.

They left the more crowded streets, and Qaelan shifted closer, his shoulder brushing hers.

“So, where are we going?” he asked, that low, sexy voice of his rippling over her skin. She liked it, the way it had an edge of husk to it.

“Your place.”

Her answer made him arch a brow. “My place?” “Your ship, the Ebony Winter.”

A deeper note of intrigue edged into his features. “So you know who I am. I’m at a disadvantage then, since everyone seems to know you except for me.”

The confirmation she’d suspected. He didn’t have a god-given clue of her identity, unlike everyone else on Tripoli. That fact was bonus points in her book. It meant she knew for certain he was interested in her and not a possible connection to her father.

“You’ll find out eventually.” But she wasn’t going to tell him. Not now, not tonight.

They reached the spaceport, conversation ebbing away again. Despite the fact they were total strangers, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. It was actually really great. If he’d tried talking to her, tried to persuade her into giving away her identity, it definitely would have ruined the mood. And right now, the mood between them was spicy sweet with anticipation. Definitely an improvement on her day.

They reached his ship, and he stepped forward to open the hatch.

“Anyone else home?” she asked as the ramp softly clanged down.

His smile was hot and intimate. “I really hope not.”

They traversed deeper into the ship, lights coming on as they sensed movement, which confirmed no one else was aboard. Her opinion of him went up several notches as she studied the interior. This ship was obviously well-loved. Though it wasn’t exactly sparkling new, it had definitely been well maintained. There was a sense of home in the small, personal details, which told her it wasn’t just a tool of his trade.

“Should we continue what we started at the bar?” he asked from somewhere behind her.

She turned from her inspection of the common room they’d entered, which opened right into the bridge, thinking he meant the kiss. But he had a bottle out and had set two glasses on the galley bench.

Drinks weren’t what she’d come here for. She was going to kiss him once more, see if that same spark was there, and then decide how the rest of her night was going to play out. Closing the distance between them, she set her hand over his on the bottle to stop him from pouring the liquor into a glass.

“Not thirsty?” He arched a single eyebrow at her and set the bottle down again.

“Not in the least,” she murmured, taking a handful of his shirt and tugging him closer.

About Jess

Jess has been making up stories ever since she can remember. Though her messy handwriting made it hard for anyone else to read them, she wasn’t deterred and now she gets to make up stories for a living. She loves loud music, a good book on a rainy day, and probably spends too much time watching too many TV shows. Jess lives in regional Victoria, Australia, with her very supportive husband, three daughters, one hyper-active border collie dog, one bunny with anger management issues, and one cat who thinks he’s one of the kids.